Tag Archives: motivation

Are you working with boulders or pebbles?

Things can be so dog-gone overwhelming sometimes, can’t they?

I worked with a couple clients last week that were paralyzed by their “to do” lists. The lists were so long and the projects were so daunting that the default action was inaction.

They were trying to work with boulders when it would have been much easier to work with pebbles.

What does working with boulders vs pebbles mean? I’ll use one of my projects as an example.

I realized that my current business name doesn’t speak to a large segment of my business: coaching. If you were looking for a coach would you think it made sense to contact “Organize to Simplify?” I know I wouldn’t, so I’m changing my business name which triggers a plethora of tasks. Some of these are Boulder tasks, some are pebble tasks.

Change business name and identity: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task
Create new logo: Boulder task
Create a new website: Boulder task
Outreach to clients and support base: Boulder task

Secure new domain: Pebble task (done)

Create new logo: Boulder task

Hire designer: Pebble task (done)
Engage with friends, family, and colleagues for their input on initial designs: Pebble task (done)
Submit preference to the designer: Pebble ask
Review 2nd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task
Review 3rd round submissions, review updates with the designer: Pebble task

Create a new website: Boulder task

Decide on new website platform: Boulder task (done)
- Review website options and costs: Pebble task (done)
- Review website templates: Pebble task (done)
Determine if the website will be self-created or hire sub-contractor: Boulder task
- Determine if I can do it myself: Pebble task
- Determine if I can justify sub-contractor cost: Pebble task
- Determine timeline availability of sub-contractor matches desired deliverable: Pebble task
Create website sitemap: Pebble task
Rewrite website pages: Pebble task
Choose images for the website: Pebble task

Market new company: Boulder task

Create marketing plan: Boulder task
- Determine marketing target: Pebble task
- Determine marketing vehicles: Pebble task
Order new business cards and note cards: Pebble task
Write a letter of introduction to clients and support base: Pebble task
Solicit LinkedIn endorsements: Pebble task
Solicit Google My Business endorsements: Pebble task

I fid this to be a pretty daunting, and I’m certain incomplete, list.

The task of “Change business name and identity” is a boulder task. I would never have been able to pick that boulder up all at one time. The boulder task was too big. I needed to create many pebbles out of that boulder in order to be successful.

What boulder tasks are you avoiding because they are too daunting?

What could you get done if you broke that boulder into pebbles?

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

www.organizetosimplify.com

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

International Coach Federation

Professional Resource Member

Coach Approach for Organizers

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD

Taxes stressing you out?

“Yikes! I’m not even close to getting my taxes done and so stressed out about it!”

Not surprisingly, this time of year creates a lot of stress and anxiety for people . . . . especially for those that may have some procrastination, organization and motivation challenges.

Generally speaking, taxes are frustrating, confusing, and sometimes moderately depressing. Therefore, we tend to procrastinate when it comes to filing our taxes. According to Wolf Tax, there are five general reasons we procrastinate when it comes to filing our taxes:

Excuses: We can come up with lots of circumstances as to why we don’t do things, especially if the excuses are self-serving and other people around you are doing it too. “Groupthink” anyone?
Thrill-Seeking: Sometimes waiting until the last possible moment to do something gives us an emotional high. Generally, this is a short-lived payoff.
No obvious penalty: There’s no penalty for dropping them off at the post office at 11:59 PM on April 15. Why hurry?
Work better under pressure: Actually, people are less effective and more prone to make errors when working under pressure.
Perfectionism: Often referred to as “perfection paralysis.” We don’t want to start a project because we fear the outcome may not be “perfect.” Perfect stands in the way of progress.

Hopefully, you’ve already filed your taxes, received your refund, and none of what I’m presenting applies to you. If so, nicely done!

If you are still waiting to file your taxes, here are your next few steps:

Call For A Tax Appointment: Stop reading right now and call for an appointment with your tax preparer. If you don’t have one, now is a good time to do some research. There are, of course, a plethora of tax preparation options. You can do an internet search on “tax preparation services,” but now may be a great time to use that social network you’ve been building. Ask your friends and relatives if they have anyone to recommend. In addition, there may be some free tax preparation services available depending on your age and income. Search “free tax preparation services” and you will get a lot of
Gather Your Documents: By now you should have received all the documents required to prepare your taxes. These documents may include, but are not limited to:

W-2s from your employers,
1099-MISC forms for self-employment income,
1099-INT (interest) and 1099-DIV (dividends) forms,
1099-B forms showing brokerage trades in stocks and bonds,
K-1 forms for income from a partnership, small business, or trust,
1099-SSA form showing Social Security received,
Documentation of charitable donations.

Other great sources for documents you may need to prepare your taxes:
Tax Preparation Documents for Homeowners
Documents To Take To Your Accountant

Create A Reusable File System To Track And Maintain Tax Documents: Once you’ve gathered all your documents, create a simple filing system (it may only be two file folders or envelopes) that will allow you to repeat this process year-after-year (generally tax documentation requirements will be the same from year-to-year unless there are major life changes).

Envelope #1 Current Year Taxes: This envelope will contain a checklist of all the documents that were required to file the current years’ taxes, plus all backup documentation.

Envelope #2 Next Year Taxes: This envelope will contain the checklist of documents you need to gather for the next year’s tax cycle. Using this previously-created and tax preparer-approved form will make it easier to ensure you have all the documentation you need for simple tax preparation come year end.

I suggest using sturdy, plastic folders or envelopes for this purpose, that way you’re not replacing them every year. Plastic File Folders or Plastic Envelopes

Filing taxes isn’t always fun and rewarding, but the consequences of not filing (or not filing on time) can be expensive and stressful. Don’t procrastinate.

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

www.organizetosimplify.com

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter Vice-President

Professional Resource Member

Coach Approach for Organizers

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.

Are you stuck on your “get organized” resolution?

Historically, “get organized” is in the top ten New Year’s Resolutions. I’m not a big believer in resolutions, but I’m a big believer in goals. And I think getting organized is a fantastic goal.

As you might imagine, I get a lot of calls this time of year. People are energized behind their goal (see, I’m eliminating “resolution” already) to “get organized” in the new year and are looking for support. Some people know what they need to do to accomplish their organizing goal, others need some assistance.

If you are feeling a little stuck, try some of these tips:

Check your motivation: What was your motivation around the get organized goal? Ask yourself “why did I set this goal?” Possible answers could be: save time, save money, reduce stress, get out of the house on time, reduce clutter, etc. The answer to that question will help motivate you toward action.
Confused on where to start?: Start with your biggest pain point. Is your kitchen so disorganized making coffee is a hassle? Are you spending so much money on things you already own that your finances are getting stretched? Are you stressed about not getting to work on time because you can’t find your keys? Success in your biggest pain point area will motivate you to move on to the next. If you can’t decide where your largest pain point is, close your eyes and point toward an area. Progress anywhere may lead to success everywhere.
Set aside time to organize: I’ve found a lot of people are very aspirational when it comes to planning projects (and organizing is a project). They say “I’ll get to that next week.” Well, next week comes and goes. I suggest people mark organizing time on their calendar. When your calendar says “organize the pantry on Saturday between 2:00 – 4:00,” chances are the organizing date will be kept.
Sort items into three large categories: Most items can be categorized into three major groups: Keep, Give, Toss.
- If you use it and love it, keep it and give it a place of honor and respect.
- If it’s functional but you no longer use it or love it, give it away. Determine the best place for the giveaway item. The best place could be a relative, friend or charity. Whatever you decide, set a deadline to get it out of your space and into theirs.
- If it’s no longer functional, toss it. Some of my clients find this to be a difficult part of the process because they are concerned about contributing to our landfill problems and I appreciate that mindset. I encourage my clients to check with their local municipality regarding recycling and check out alternatives to just throwing something away. For example, my recycle station accepts household metal like toasters and Goodwill will accept clothing that’s no longer wearable (just mark the donation as “textile recycle”). Research and creativity can keep a lot of things out of landfills.
Track your progress: Take a “before” picture of the space you are working on and continue to take pictures throughout the organizing process. Even if you haven’t completed the process, seeing change is motivating. Be sure to take a photo after you’ve completed the project not only as a reminder of how far you’ve come, but to give yourself a clear picture of what you’d like the space to look like on an ongoing basis.

I encourage my clients to remember a couple things:

Organizing is not only a project, but a way of life. Once you are organized enough for your lifestyle, a few minutes a day will help maintain your newly-organized spaces.
Largely attributed to Sheryl Sandberg “Done is better than perfect.” The thought that something needs to be perfect will stop us in our tracks.

Whatever you do, don’t give up on your new year’s goals like the Allstate “Mayhem” character has!

Cindy Jobs, COC, ACC

Looking for more information?

Click here for 15-minute organizing tips.

Click here to schedule a free coaching consultation.

www.organizetosimplify.com

National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, Seattle Chapter

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter Vice President

Coach Approach for Organizers

Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.

Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.

What’s your motivation?

“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.” — Stephen Covey

Motivation. It’s an intriguing thing.

Some people seem to have more of it.
Motivation varies widely from person-to-person.
Even within ourselves, some days we seem to have more of it than others.

Here are some keys to managing motivation:

Define the motivation.
Define what success means to you.
Motivation is easier to come by when we do something we love.
Track your progress in effort, not results.

Defining the motivation: Motivation comes in different forms. Most studies conclude that internal motivation is much more powerful than external motivation. So, to be successful at a task, define your “why.”

Motivation comes up frequently with my coaching clients. One client engaged in coaching because “I want to be better at my job, and part of that is learning to work outside my comfort zone.” That coaching relationship is incredibly successful. Yet another client engaged in coaching “because my mom thought it would help motivate me to keep my room clean and get better grades.” Suffice to say, that coaching relationship didn’t survive. He was doing it for the wrong reason: someone else.

Defining the motivation is the first key to success. Do it for you, not someone else.

Clearly define success: With any goal, there needs to be a definition of success and what it means to you personally. Depending on what success means to you, the motivation may be different.

I have a client that is a successful business person. He has a clear definition of what success in 2017 will look like. It’s not “I’ll make more money.” It is a very clear, hard number. Hitting that sales number means several things: It reinforces for him that he’s good at what he does (internal motivation) and he will be able to provide an amazing trip for his family next Spring (external motivation). For him, internal and external motivation go hand in hand, but only because he has a very, very clear picture of what “success” means to him.

Do what you love: I have friends who LOVE to exercise. They get up at 5:00 AM to go to their favorite class. They feel better (both physically and mentally) when they are engaged in their passion. On the other hand, there would need to be some serious external motivation to get me to follow their plan. But, ask me to get up at 5:00 AM to meet a client so we can get their garage cleaned by noon and I’m all in!

Motivation is just easier if we are doing something we love.

Track progress in effort: Sometimes even the most motivated people get sidetracked when they don’t see the results as quickly as they anticipated. Rather than focusing entirely on the end game, focus on the effort.

If you are looking to write the next great novel, motivation can be lost if it doesn’t come together quickly. Rather, acknowledge that you will feel accomplishment by writing 30 minutes every three days. The internal motivation of progress, versus the frustration of not being finished, will help accomplish the long-term goal.

What are you motivated to accomplish today?

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President

Certified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Coach Approach for Organizers

National Procrastination Week: March 5-11, 2017

(I was going to publish this next week as a joke about procrastination, but decided against it. Probably wouldn’t be as funny as I think it is right now.)

I like to think of myself as a pretty efficient, on-top-of it kind of gal . . . but I’m also a bit of a procrastinator.

These are some of my top reasons for procrastinating:

If I can’t assign a priority to something, I don’t plan a time to do it.
If I don’t know how to do something, I put it off.
Frankly, I just don’t want to do it . . . so I don’t do it until it’s a crisis.

Want some more?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow.
We work better under pressure.
We don’t have all the tools we need to get the project done.
The project is just too big.

How many more can you think of? Several, I’ll bet. I think we can all acknowledge that these are excuses, not reasons, for not getting things done. What’s the reality behind each of the above?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow: Well, we probably won’t. If we didn’t want to do it today, we more than likely won’t want to do it tomorrow. What’s going to change in 24 hours that will make the task more inviting and stimulating? Nothing. How successful are we at predicting how we will feel in the future? Generally, not very good. Plus, we don’t know what additional roadblocks may come our way that would cause an even more negative impact. It would help if we could identify why we are delaying starting the project, identify any emotional or physical roadblocks, then remove them. More than likely we stumble over emotional roadblocks due the uncertainty of how to accomplish the task. Postponing alone won’t resolve that roadblock.

We work better under pressure: Studies show we don’t. Things generally take longer than we anticipate and are more complex than we give them credit for. When we leave things to the last minute we rush, make more mistakes, and generally deliver an inferior product because we didn’t have (or make) the time necessary to do the job right. Is that the image you want to project to your employer, family, or friends? Probably not. Working under pressure causes extreme stress. Starting the task or project early, identifying the demands of the project, and working frequently and methodically, will result in a better result. Leaving the last look and finishing touches until the last minute may be okay, but leaving starting until the last minute won’t help deliver the best product.

We don’t have all the tools we need to get the job done: Well, maybe we don’t, but not having the tools readily at hand doesn’t mean we can’t start. What we CAN do is start the project by breaking it down into steps, the first one being to identify what tools or resources we need to complete those steps, and make a plan to get started, including scheduling it on our calendars.

The project is just too big: Sometimes the task just seem too big and that’s understandable. Some projects are quite large and very daunting, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to accomplish. I heard a great example from Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D (an expert on procrastination) about trimming his dogs toenails. He has 10 sled dogs, each with 20 toenails. Thinking about trimming 200 toe nails was too much; but breaking it down into smaller chunks of two dogs per day (40 toenails) made it a much more manageable task. So, even though the entire project may seem like too much, breaking it down into smaller, more achievable tasks will help.

Do you see yourself in any of the above scenarios? I know I do. The key is determining what is holding you back and work through it. How do we do that?

Make A Plan

Just Get Started

Although it sounds simple, sometimes that’s all it takes. Just getting started will provide the momentum to finish. Unfinished tasks tend to be uncomfortable, so once we get started, we have the drive and desire to finish.

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President

Certified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Have you lost your mojo?

About a month ago I lost my mojo. You know what mojo is, right? According to the Cambridge Dictionary it’s “a quality that attracts people to you and makes you successful and full of energy.”

Harley visited the Everett Library weekly for a Paws To Read program.

I can trace it back to the day we lost our 12-year old Boxer, Harley. He was one of the best dogs we’ve ever had and his passing left a huge hole in my heart. Nothing else seemed to matter, I just wallowed in sadness. For those of you that aren’t close to your pets, you won’t get it; for those of you that consider pets a part of the family, you will.

Anyway, I lost my mojo. I failed to see the importance in important things. I lost my drive. I started focusing on easy, non-critical tasks. Lots of things just didn’t seem to matter. Well, that can only go on so long before things start to fall apart and something has to change. That trigger for change was yesterday. I decided to acknowledge that I’d been coasting for a month and that I needed a swift kick in the rear to get back on track.

What can we do to get our mojo back when we’ve lost it?

Acknowledge and respect the event that caused the change. Give yourself permission to have changed your behavior for a while. We can’t be at 110% all the time. There are times we are just tired, fed up, frustrated, sad, angry . . . whatever. Once the trigger is identified and acknowledged, it somehow loses some of it’s power.
Decide that “enough is enough.” Most of us can’t coast forever. Our families deserve more. Our business can’t support it. Take that first step toward change.
Make a list of things that need to be done. Fortunately, and most importantly, my personal life was in pretty good shape, but I was way behind with business responsibilities. I’d not been keeping up on my weekly blogging, my newsletter hadn’t gone out, I’d missed some teleclasses that needed to be made up. There were just some things that NEEDED to be done to get back on track.
Find an accountability partner to help keep motivated. I’m fortunate to have a fantastic coaching partner that let me talk through the process and helped me determine my next steps to get on track. For example, today I committed to sending some personal notes and writing a blog. When I get done with both of those things, I will be sending her an e-mail. It’s nice to have someone, besides myself, that’s interested in my success.

Yesterday I was pretty down on myself. Today, I feel like a new person.

Motivated. Encouraged. Successful. Empowered.

It was not an easy transition, but I made it. And if you find yourself in the very same place, you can get it back too!

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

cindy@organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Area Chapter President

Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Six Certificates of Education

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever procrastinated starting a project, sending an e-mail, or cleaning a closet? I know my hand went in the air for all three of those things and I consider myself a pretty efficient and on-top-of-it-all kind of gal. At times we all succumb to the pesky practice of procrastination.

Why do we procrastinate?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow.
We work better under pressure.
We don’t have all the tools we need to get the project done.
The project is just too big.

How many more can you think of? Several, I’ll bet. I think we can all acknowledge that these are excuses, not reasons, for not getting things done. What’s the reality behind each of the above?

We’ll feel more motivated tomorrow: Well, we probably won’t. If we didn’t want to do it today, we more than likely won’t want to do it tomorrow. What’s going to change in 24 hours that will make the task more inviting and stimulating? Nothing. How successful are we at predicting how we will feel in the future? Generally, not very good. Plus, we don’t know what additional roadblocks may come our way that would cause an even more negative impact. What we need to do is think about why we are delaying starting the project, identify any emotional or physical roadblocks, then remove them. More than likely we stumble over emotional roadblocks due the uncertainty of how to accomplish the task. Postponing alone won’t resolve that roadblock.

We don’t have all the tools we need to get the job done: Well, maybe we don’t, but not having the tools readily at hand doesn’t mean we can’t start. What we CAN do is start the project by breaking it down into steps, identify what tools or resources you need to complete those steps, and make a plan to get started, including scheduling it on your calendar. Not having everything we need isn’t an excuse for doing nothing.

Do you see yourself in any of the above scenarios? I know I do. The key is determining what is holding you back and work through it. How do we do that?

Just Get Started

Although it sounds simple, sometimes that’s all it takes. Just getting started will provide the momentum to finish. Unfinished tasks are uncomfortable for us, so once we get started, we have the drive and desire to finish.

Look for my next installment: “The Costs of Procrastination”

There are many, many costs to procrastination, including professional, financial and emotional. All of which can be avoided.

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com